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The Corbomite Maneuver (episode)
---- Exploring a distant region of space, the Enterprise is threatened by Balok, commander of a starship from the First Federation. Summary Teaser The ''Enterprise'' is making star maps of a region previously unexplored by the Federation. Spock is in command while Captain Kirk submits to a quarterly physical. Lieutenant Sulu announces contact with an object approaching the Enterprise at light speed. Evasive maneuvers and deflectors are ineffective. Spock sounds the alarm, then countermands it as the object slows down. Navigator Dave Bailey reacts emotionally to the danger. When the Enterprise cannot steer around the object, Spock again declares red alert and calls Kirk to the bridge. Act One In Sickbay, Doctor McCoy continues Kirk's physical, though McCoy sees the red alert. Kirk scolds McCoy for not notifying him, but McCoy is pleased to have completed an examination on the usually unwilling Kirk. On the bridge, Bailey interrupts Spock, then defends his emotional reaction earlier. Spock has a dry retort, and Sulu informs Bailey of the risks of "crossing brains" with Spock. The bridge crew analyzes the object as solid and of unknown composition, 107 meters on each edge, and almost 11,000 metric tons in mass. Scott cannot say what propels it or lets it sense and react to the movements of the Enterprise. McCoy has no analysis of it either. Attempts to communicate with it fail. Bailey says, "I vote we blast it," and Kirk gives him another reminder of how things work on the bridge. Act Two Eighteen hours later, the department heads assemble in the briefing room. Spock concludes that the object is either some kind of buoy – or "flypaper." Kirk and Spock agree that "sticking around" would convey weakness. Bailey misinterprets the talk as an order to prepare phasers and starts to issue an order to the phaser gun crew. When countermanded, he begins to defend his action. Kirk instead orders Bailey to plot a spiral course away from the object. The course is executed, at speeds increasing from 0.25 to warp factor 3, but the object stays with the Enterprise, begins to emit lethal radiation, and closes with the ship. When it is within 51 meters, Kirk orders fire from the main phasers. The object is destroyed, but the Enterprise is rocked by the resulting shock wave. Act Three Spock reports no other objects within sensor range, and believes that, if the ship continues forward, it will encounter the intelligence that sent the cube, intelligence probably both different and superior to their own. Kirk resolves to proceed, as contact with alien life is the mission. But he orders the phaser crew and Engineering to conduct drills, calling their reaction to the attack too sluggish. Bailey supervises the drills. In the turbolift, McCoy questions the timing of Kirk's order, as the crew is tired; and doubts Bailey's fitness as navigator, suggesting that Kirk promoted him too fast, possibly seeing something of himself in the young man. Bailey's emotionalism on the intercom supports McCoy's doubts but Kirk brushes them off. Kirk and McCoy continue their conversation in Kirk's quarters over a drink. Spock reports a rating of 94% on the last drill but Kirk presses them for 100%. He faces two additional annoyances: the fact that McCoy has put him on a salad diet to lose weight, and that someone has assigned him an attractive female yeoman, Janice Rand. Kirk and McCoy pause to listen to the intercom, where Bailey orders a second drill. But Sulu countermands the order, as a new object is approaching. It is spherical and much larger than the first one: about a mile in diameter. As the object comes onto the viewscreen, Kirk cuts speed to Warp Two. A hard tractor beam grabs the Enterprise. The engines overload and Kirk orders a full stop and orders phaser crews to readiness. Kirk orders Bailey to decrease the viewscreen magnification; Sulu does so when Bailey doesn't hear him. Kirk orders Uhura to open a hailing frequency and starts to offer a greeting, but Bailey detects a message on the navigation beam. The message identifies the sphere as the Fesarius, the flagship of the First Federation, and the speaker as her commanding officer, Balok. Balok claims the Enterprise and her crew have shown their hostile intention and says the Fesarius is now considering their "disposition." When Kirk tries to explain to Balok, exceptionally powerful sensors invade all Enterprise systems. Balok refuses further communication from the Enterprise and says he will destroy her if she makes any move. When Kirk launches a recorder marker, Balok destroys it and gives the crew ten minutes to make death preparations, assuming they have "a deity or deities." When McCoy tells Kirk that Balok's message was heard throughout the ship, Kirk addresses a calming and optimistic message to his crew. Kirk signals to the Fesarius that the Enterprise will "return the way it came," but all engine and weapon power is drained. Spock, claiming curiosity, obtains a fearsome visual image of the face of Balok. Bailey launches a tirade at the way the bridge crew is calmly dealing with apparently certain death. Kirk relieves him and has Doctor McCoy escort him to his quarters. He then tries again to talk to Balok, to no effect. Act Four Kirk asks Spock for options, but Spock says that sometimes, as in chess, the game is over. McCoy uses the lull in activity to ask to record the Bailey episode as fatigue. McCoy disagrees with Kirk and makes a threat – "Now, that's no bluff." The use of the word gives Kirk an inspiration not from chess but poker. He signals to Balok that a substance aboard all Federation vessels called corbomite, undocumented in any ship's memory banks, has made attacks infeasible for two centuries. Kirk then dares Balok to attack, saying the Fesarius will be destroyed by "a reverse reaction." While waiting to see if the bluff pays off, a calmer Bailey returns to the bridge and Kirk restores him to his post. The countdown expires and Balok signals that the Enterprise s destruction is "delayed" until the First Federation can verify the existence of corbomite. Kirk refuses, and Balok announces that a small ship will tow them to a nearby First Federation planet where the crew will be interned and the Enterprise will be destroyed. Kirk guesses correctly that the tractor beam is a drain on the small escort ship, and that Balok will grow careless. Kirk orders a right-angle course to shear away from the beam. The Enterprise overheats and shudders, but the escort ship also brightens. The Enterprise breaks free and Balok sends a weak distress call to the mother ship that Uhura thinks it will never hear. Kirk orders the ship forward to rescue Balok, informing the crew that there are lives, albeit alien, at stake. McCoy is skeptical but Kirk calls it a chance to "demonstrate what our high-sounding words mean." Kirk selects McCoy for a landing party in case medical care is needed; also Bailey, to whom Kirk says he owes a look at "the face of the unknown." The three transport to the escort ship where they find that the fearsome creature they had viewed is the head of a dummy. The real Balok emerges, with the appearance of a child. "You would never have been frightened by me," he says. Everything that has gone before was a test of the Enterprise s intentions – even the memory banks could have been a deception. Balok explains that he runs the entire complex himself, and has gotten lonely. He requests that a crewman remain with him as a cultural exchange. Bailey volunteers and Kirk anticipates a more seasoned officer at the end of the exchange. Log Entries *"Captain's Log, Stardate 1512.2. On our third day of star mapping, an unexplained cubical object blocked our vessel's path. On the bridge, Mr. Spock immediately ordered general alert. My location: sickbay. Quarterly physical check." *"Captain's log, Stardate 1513.8. Star maps reveal no indication of habitable planets nearby. Origin and purpose of the cube still unknown. We've been here, held motionless, for eighteen hours." *"Captain's Log, Stardate, 1514.0. The cube has been destroyed. Ship's damage minor, but my next decision major. Probe on ahead or turn back?" *"Captain's log, Stardate 1514.1. The ''Enterprise is in tow; to this point no resistance has been offered. My plan: a show of resignation. Balok's tractor beam has to be a heavy drain of power on a small ship. Question: Will he grow careless?" Memorable Quotes "What am I? A doctor or a moon shuttle conductor?" : - '''McCoy' after Kirk leaves sickbay, uttering a variant of his famous catchphrase for the first time "Raising my voice back there doesn't mean I was scared or couldn't do my job. It means I happen to have a human thing called an adrenaline gland." "It does sound most inconvenient, however. Have you considered having it removed?" : - Bailey and Spock "You try to cross brains with Spock, he'll cut you to pieces every time." : - Sulu, to Bailey "Beats me what makes it go." "I'll buy speculation." "I'd sell it if I had any." : - Scott and Kirk, on Balok's cube "We've got phaser weapons. I vote we blast it!" "I'll keep that in mind, Mister Bailey, when this becomes a democracy." : - Bailey and Kirk, on what to do with the cube "Has it occurred to you that there's a certain... inefficiency in constantly questioning me on things you've already made up your mind about?" "It gives me emotional security." : - Spock and Kirk, after the cube's destruction "Aren't you the one that always says a little suffering is good for the soul?" "I never say that." : - Kirk and McCoy "Dr. McCoy, I've heard you say that man is ultimately superior to any mechanical device." "No, I never say that, either." "I could have sworn I heard you say that." : - Kirk and McCoy "I've already got a female to worry about. Her name's the ''Enterprise." : - '''Kirk' to McCoy, on Rand "Hailing frequencies open, sir." : - Uhura, uttering her signature catchphrase for the first time "Are you all out of your minds?! End of watch! It's the end of everything!! What are you, robots?! Wound-up toy soldiers?! Don't you know when you're dying?!" : - Bailey, before being relieved of duty "You have an annoying fascination for timepieces, Mister Sulu." : - Scott, as Sulu keeps track of the countdown to destruction "I have no time for you, your theories, your quaint philosophies." : - Kirk, to McCoy "Anytime you can bluff ''me, Doctor!" : - '''Kirk', to McCoy "Not chess, Mr. Spock. Poker." : - Kirk, to Spock "Death has little meaning to us. If it has none to you, then attack us now. We grow annoyed at your foolishness." : - Kirk, to Balok (Spock shakes his head admiringly) "However, it was well played." : - Spock, on Kirk's corbomite bluff "I regret not having learned more about this Balok. In some manner he was reminiscent of my father." "Then may heaven have helped your mother." "Quite the contrary. She considered herself a very fortunate Earth woman." : - Spock and Scott "A very interesting game, this poker." "It does have advantages over chess." "Love to teach it to you." : - Spock, Kirk, and McCoy, after Kirk's successful bluff "Let him sweat for a change." : - Kirk, on Balok's request for proof of the corbomite device "You represent Earth's best, then?" "No, sir, I'm not. I'll make plenty of mistakes." "But you'd find out more about us that way. And I'd get a better officer in return." : - Balok, Bailey and Kirk, inside Balok's ship "We're very much alike, Captain. Both proud of our ships." : - Balok, giving Kirk, McCoy and Bailey a guided tour of his vessel Background Information Production Timeline *First draft script: *Final draft script: *Second revised final script: * Filmed: – * Original airdate: * Rerun airdate: * First UK airdate: Even the final draft of this script, dated 3 May 1966, is quite different from the aired version: * The character of Uhura is not present. Dave Bailey is the communications officer, and he does not "flip out" as he does in the aired episode. * Lieutenant Ken Easton is the navigator. * Many bits of character-building are also absent. There are no flypaper, chess or poker analogies – Kirk simply decides to bluff Balok out of the blue. * The planet where Balok intends to imprison the Enterprise crew is named Carpi. * There is also no reference in this draft to: ** Kirk's salad ** Curiosity on Spock's part as to what Balok looks like – Balok initiates visual contact with the Enterprise ** Spock's opinion that Balok reminds him of his father or Scotty's retort Story and Script * A line from Balok warning the crew they had one minute left was not recorded, leaving Sulu to comment, "I knew he would" in response to nothing. (The Star Trek Compendium) The preview has an unused cut of Balok saying, "We grant you one minute" that could be modified and dubbed into the episode. * Spock confesses an ignorance of poker, and he probably wouldn't enjoy the game since he said in that Vulcans do not bluff. * Part of engineering's location is referred to in this episode. Kirk orders Bailey to coordinate drills with engineering, and Bailey says on two distinct occasions "On the double, Deck 5, give me the green light!" and also "Engineering Deck 5, report! Come on phaser crews, let's get with it!". He could either be referring to an engine room in the saucer on deck 5 or a separate "engineering deck 5" that exists in lower levels (where some of engineering is referenced to be in episodes like , , and ). * This is one of the few episodes of the original which places a time stamp on the events. It is placed two centuries after mankind's early space explorations, or roughly the late 22nd century. Also, in , the V'Ger probe is said to be roughtly two-hundred years old, placing the film in the same era. It would later be established in and that these adventures took place in the late 23rd century. Also, in the Star Trek Chronology by Michael Okuda, Okuda states that Gene Roddenberry made a request for a Star Trek timeline while producing The Next Generation, unaware Okuda was already working on such a time line. This chronology was used to firmly establish the calendar date of TNG (2364) and ALL Star Trek dates, including The Original Series, were established using this date. Therefore, it was retroactively established that the original series took place 300 years after its broadcast date, placing this episode in 2266. Obviously, when the Original Series was being filmed the exact time line had yet to be established, but one way to reconcile the dialogue "mistake" is to assume that Kirk was referring not to the Moon landing, but to Zefram Cochrane's warp flight of 2063 – which would put this episode 203 years after that event.) It is also possible that this statement was only part of the bluff. * When addressing the Fesarius, Kirk identifies his ship as the United Earth Ship Enterprise, nomenclature which was never used again. * Balok displays a knowledge of Earth popular culture. When discussing the "false" Balok, he referred to it as "the Mr. Hyde to my Dr. Jekyll". However, the methods that Balok employed in this episode actually bore much more similarity to The Wizard of Oz. Cast and Characters * Leonard McCoy, Janice Rand, and Uhura debut here. * Sulu has transferred to the command division from the sciences division following his premiere in . This the first episode in which he occupies his familiar seat at the helm. * The "tranya" served by Balok was actually grapefruit juice. Clint Howard, who was a little kid at the time, had to pretend very hard to like the drink, which he found distasteful. (TOS Season 1 DVD special features) * James Doohan's wartime injury to his right hand is briefly visible in the conference room scene when he passes a coffee thermos. Generally this was carefully hidden off-camera, but it can also be seen when he's holding a phaser in and very briefly in freeze-frame when he's reaching into the box to restrain the evil dog in . * This is the first episode to include pointed sideburns on all of the male crew members. * Many of the extras credited to the extras list were cut from the final print, including Sean Morgan, Bruce Mars and Stewart Moss. Effects * In the original version of the series, this was the first episode in which the forward sections of the warp engine nacelles were made to glow, though in the teaser this didn't happen because it seems to have used footage from . In the remastered TOS, however, this is no longer true, as the nacelles of the ship are uniformly shown to glow. * The distinctive bridge sound effects of TOS are first heard in this episode. Early episodes of (notably "Execution" from 1960), previously featured this distinctive computer sound. * The set of Balok's room was a re-dress of the Enterprise conference room set. (Inside Star Trek) It was later recycled to create the bar in (later reused in ). (The Star Trek Compendium) * The unique phaser burst that the Enterprise fires at the warning buoy is seen only in this episode. * The shot of the ship being towed by the small First Federation pilot vessel, from a perspective behind the nacelles, was re-used countless times in future episodes, with different ships or planets matted in. When it was used later, it was often slowed down, which made it much more grainy than the clear print in this episode. * Although we never learn the specific dimensions of the Enterprise during the series, it is established visually to be bigger than the cube, which Sulu says is 107 meters on each side. Costumes * This episode contains a number of "firsts" for the costume department. Although some of the pilots' uniforms were seen on background extras, this is the first episode in which black collars on tunics debut. Nevertheless, some of the uniforms–particularly Spock's–have higher, loose, "turtleneck" black collars than would generally appear throughout the series. In Sulu's first close-up, the zipper built into the collar is clearly visible – because he was wearing a "leftover" from the first two pilots that was retrofitted , not quite expertly, with the new black collar. * Additionally, "The Corbomite Maneuver" saw the initial appearance of skirt uniforms, as well as "plunging neckline" collars for most women. Red operations division tunics were also seen for the first time here, as was the silk, short-sleeved "laboratory" tunic for the CMO. The system of sleeve rank insignia was also more refined in this episode than it had been in either pilot. Noticeably, Kirk first wore the insignia he would display throughout the series, and the rank stripes themselves took on a more wavy, stylized design than the simple bands they had been in the previous pilots, complete with broken bits of braid to denote the ranks of lieutenant j.g., lieutenant commander, and captain. * Finally, beginning with this episode, the men's uniforms featured a "raglan" construction, like that found in crewneck sweaters, with the tops of the sleeves reaching all the way up to the collar. In the two previous pilots, the uniform sleeves were constructed like those in men's dress shirts, with their tops ending at the upper arm. * Despite the introduction of the red operations division tunic in this episode, Uhura is seen in a gold command division uniform both here and in . She also incongruously wears a sciences division assignment patch, rather than the appropriate command "star". * In addition, in the bridge scene following the destruction of Balok's cube, several crew members who are repairing the damage can be seen wearing blue uniforms without black collars that were left over from the pilots. * When Kirk leaves sickbay, he throws his uniform shirt over his shoulders; the tunic has only two solid gold rank stripes. In the turbolift and changing in his quarters, his tunic has the 2½ stripe marking. * When McCoy enters the bridge right after Balok announced the impending destruction of the Enterprise, he is wearing a standard sciences division uniform. But in later shots he is shown in the short-sleeved tunic, having not left the bridge or have any opportunity to change his clothing during that time. But when he takes Bailey to his quarters he's back in the standard uniform which he remains in for the rest of the episode. Sets and Props * There are detailed close-ups of some of the engineering station read-outs in this episode. * There are signs of this being an early production, such as a bridge chair squeaking rather loudly near the end of the episode (when Uhura is listening in on Balok's distress call), as well as hearing the ship doors, made of wood, slide on the stage floor as they open and close. Stage noises were edited out of later episodes. * Instead of reusing the bridge helm station as in the two pilot episodes, a dedicated transporter console makes its debut. The top was painted black and the intercom stands alone on the top of the console. Beginning with , the next episode to be filmed, the console would be painted its customary reddish-orange seen in all subsequent episodes and the intercom would be bracketed by two alert lights. * The panel seen behind Balok when Kirk, McCoy and Bailey first beam aboard the pilot ship was cannibalized from the main panel in the Enterprise engineering room. * When Kirk reports to the bridge from the turbolift, a rare camera angle from the elevator illustrates the panel to the right of the main viewscreen, and the two bridge consoles to the left of the science station. These sections were usually rolled out (off-screen) to facilitate filming the navigation console and Spock's station. Like , the turbolift has double doors (the inner is gray; the outer is red), like modern elevators. This feature was later eliminated, probably because it was too cumbersome to maintain. * The "screen-saver" animation on the main bridge viewscreen from is just barely visible over Bailey's shoulder during the repair scene after the battle with the cube buoy. * The colors of the cube buoy reflect on the railings at the front of the bridge. When this perspective was later re-used as the stock view screen shot for the next three seasons, the reflecting lights still showed up on the railings. (A new stock shot of the viewscreen was made in the middle of the second season.) Production * Also filmed for this episode (by associate producer Robert H. Justman) was George Takei's reaction shot in which he turned around and looked at Kirk, reused in dozens of future episodes whenever something strange appeared on the viewscreen. A similar clip was filmed of Walter Koenig during season two. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story) * This was the first regular episode of Star Trek: The Original Series produced following the two pilots. * It was also the first episode to feature Kirk's famous "Space--the final frontier" monologue in the opening credits. * A front-on close-up of Balok, without the rippling distortion of his image as seen on the main viewing screen, was the final shot of past episodes that was displayed in many of the series' end credits. In Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, Robert Justman explained that he superimposed the credit "Executive in Charge of Production Herbert F. Solow" over Balok's image as an in-joke. Justman later secured a screen grab of the shot and kept it in his home office, in what he called the "cheapest, junkiest black frame" he could find. * Although the script instructed Spock actor Leonard Nimoy to emote a fearful reaction upon his first sight of the Balok puppet, director Joseph Sargent suggested to Nimoy that he ignore what the script called for and instead simply react with the single word "Fascinating." The suggestion of this response helped refine the Spock character. (Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series, pp. 44-45) Reception * This episode was nominated for a Hugo Award in as "Best Dramatic Presentation". * In the 1970s, the Mego toy company used Balok's "puppet head" to create "The Keeper" action figure doll (despite Balok not being Talosian). * At the on October 30, 2010, and referred to this episode by name after riffing on the dangers of "corbomite" in bottled water; they also mentioned Uhura's incongruous uniform, as described above. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/30/live-blog-rally-to-restore-sanity-andor-fear/ Remastered Information * The remastered version of this episode premiered in syndication the weekend of . New shots of the Enterprise, the pilot vessel, the Fesarius and the warning cube were rendered. As a "tip of the hat" to the original episode, the opening shot of the Enterprise for the remastered version was the same as seen on the view screen in the remastered version of and (except the CGI model was modified to match the rest of the episode, with the smaller antenna dish, the spinning nacelle domes and the lack of spires on them). File:Enterprise_3-4_view_2254.jpg|The original opening shot lifted from The Cage File:Enterprise_3-4_view_2266.jpg|...and the faithful recreation File:Enterprise and baloks cube.jpg|The Enterprise and Balok's cube File:Enterprise and baloks cube remastered.jpg|...and the remastered version with interactive lighting File:Enterprise red phasers.jpg|The ship's first phaser shot of the series File:Enterprise phasers blue remastered.jpg|...replaced with the more consistent blue color File:Fesarius.jpg|The original Fesarius... File:Fesarius, remastered.jpg|...and remastered version. File:Enterprise_Fesarius_Old.jpg|The original Enterprise and Fesarius... File:Fesarius_Enterprise.jpg|...and the remastered version. In the original version of this episode, when Sulu announces there is one minute left on the timer, the timer actually reads: "2:02...2:01...1:00 (the two-minute marker changes to one as the one-second marker changes to zero) ...1:59". In the remastered version, this apparent error is corrected by the insertion of an entirely redesigned chronometer. of the remastered version]] :The next remastered episode to air was . Video and DVD Releases * Original US Betamax/VHS release: . * Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2, catalog number VHR 2210, release date unknown. * As part of the UK Star Trek - The Three Beginnings VHS collection: . * US VHS release: . * As part of the UK Star Trek - The Four Beginnings VHS collection: release date unknown. * UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 1.1, . * Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 1, . * As part of the TOS Season 1 DVD collection. * As part of the TOS Season 1 HD DVD collection. * As part of the TOS Season 1 Blu-ray collection. Links and References Starring * William Shatner as Capt. Kirk Also Starring * Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock Co-Starring * Anthony Call as Dave Bailey * Clint Howard as Balok Featuring * DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy * Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Rand * George Takei as Sulu * James Doohan as Scott * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura Uncredited Co-Stars ;Confirmed: * William Blackburn as Hadley * Ted Cassidy as the voice of the Balok's puppet * Frank da Vinci as Brent * John Fifer as Balok's puppeteer * Jeannie Malone as a yeoman * Eddie Paskey as Leslie * Walker Edmiston as the voice of Balok * Ron Veto as Harrison * Unknown actor as Bobby ;Unconfirmed: * George Bochman as a crewman * Gloria Calomee as a crew woman * John Gabriel as a crewman * Ena Hartman as a crew woman * Mittie Lawrence as a crew woman * Jonathan Lippe as a crewman References 2255; adrenaline gland; Andromeda Galaxy; Balok's cube; Balok's pilot vessel; chess; coffee; condition alert/general alert; ; corbomite; deflectors; deity; democracy; diet card; directional beam; Earth; electromagnetic spectrum; evasive maneuvers; Fesarius; First Federation; flagship; flypaper; galley; Grayson, Amanda; hand phaser; intermix chamber; lettuce; life sciences; light speed; logic; Messier 32; Messier 110; meter; metric ton; mile; moon shuttle conductor; mothership; navigation beam; oxygen; phaser gun; photograph; poker; puppet; quarterly physical; radiation; recorder marker; robot; salad; Sarek; space buoy; spectrograph; star map; star mapping; Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The; timepiece; toy soldier; tractor beam; tranya; warning buoy Star Chart References Andromeda; Aries; Auriga; Cancer; Canis Major; Canis Minor; Cetus; Columba; Eridanus; Fornax; Gemini; Lepus; Monoceros; Orion; Pisces; Puppis; Sculptor; Taurus External link * |next= |lastair= |nextair= |lastair_remastered= |nextair_remastered= }} de:Pokerspiele es:The Corbomite Maneuver fr:The Corbomite Maneuver it:L'espediente della carbonite (episodio) ja:TOS:謎の球体 nl:The Corbomite Maneuver pl:The Corbomite Maneuver sv:The Corbomite Maneuver Corbomite Maneuver, The